A. Bertram Chandler was one of the highly renowned authors from Britain, who used to like writing science fiction novels. He was a British-Australian and very popular in the science fiction world. Chandler was born on March 28, 1912; and died on June 6, 1984. In addition to writing under his own name, he used to make use of a number of pen names as well. Some of his popular pen names include George Whitely, S.H.M, Andrew Dunstan, etc. Author Chandler was born as Arthur Bertram Chandler in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. He chose the profession of Merchant Navy and worked as a marine officer for many years. Chandler sailed through the world in all types of ships, starting from the tramp steamer up to the troop ships. He decided to migrate to Australia in 1956 and obtained the citizenship there. Following his migration, he was involved in commanding a number of ships in the merchant navies of New Zealand and Australia. He has achieved the feat of being the last master to have served on the aircraft carrier of Australia, the HMAS Melbourne. He was asked to join HMAS Melbourne as per a law that required an officer to be on board while it was being towed to get broken up in China. As far as the writing career of author Chandler is concerned, he is believed to have written more than 40 books and some 200 short fiction works. For one of his short stories titled ‘The Bitter Pill’, Chandler was awarded the Ditmar Award. He won this award three more times later in his career. The descriptions that he has given in his books about the life in spaceships and understanding and relationships between the crew members are based on his personal experiences while serving on the seagoing ships. Due to his vast experience, his descriptions are filled with realism, which is hardly found with the other authors.

Chandler is particularly well known for writing the books of Rim World as well as the John Grimes series. Both these series have distinct naval flavors. John Grimes, in particular, is shown as an enthusiastic sailor. He goes through occasional adventures while sailing in the oceans on various planets. Author Chandler has said that he arrived at the novels of John Grimes in a roundabout and convoluted way. The original protagonist described by him was Derek Calver. He is depicted as a merchant spaceman who gets drifted to Rim from Galactic center. This is described in a similar way as author Chandler migrated to Australia from The United Kingdom. The Australian background of Chandler can be seen evident in his book as he has depicted Australia going on to become a major power in the world. The Australians become the leader in the space explorations as well as in the colonization of the other planets. Chandler also mentioned a villain named Drongo Kane, who is a pirate captain hailing from a planet called Austral. Several other books describe a planet called Australis in the galaxy. Chandler’s books depict sex on a frequent basis. The protagonists are shown more prone to promiscuous behavior and affairs. They are also shown indulging in love affairs and undertaking harmonious and long lasting marriages. In his personal life, author Chandler has a daughter named Jenny Chandler, who is married to a British writer named Ramsey Campbell. The stories of John Grimes are divided into 3 parts. The first part is shown in books released between the years 1967 and 1975, depicting the growth of John Grimes from an Ensign to a Commander. The next part depicts the hard times in the life of John Grimes following his resignation, in the books between 1977 and 1984. The final part of the series is shown in continuation with the other novel series of author Chandler.

An interesting book released as a part of the John Grimes series by A. Bertram Chandler is entitled ‘The Broken Cycle’. It was released by the DAW publication in 1979. At the start of this book, John Grimes is introduced as having the habit of getting lost in the space and getting acquainted with new experiences every now and then. He has already faced numerous such dilemmas in his job, being an interstellar officer. But, the latest one seems to be the most difficult of all as he gets lost inside an alien spacecraft. The matter gets even more complicated when John Grimes discovers that the universe did not belong to the aliens. Rather, it was an alternate one and was controlled by an omnipotent force. John Grimes has a companion in the form of a comely policewoman named Una Freeman. After capturing both of them, the aliens decide a fate that requires them to build an Eden Garden for them. The story comes to an interesting end as John Grimes and Una Freeman manage to plan an escape from the clutches of the aliens. On the whole, the book seems to be a wild and weird romp set in the space time. It shows surprising adventures of John Grimes in the space. The book was highly appreciated by the readers and critics, and this helped in its success all across the globe.

Another exciting book released in the series is titled ‘Star Courier’. The DAW publishers once again released it it 1983. Author Chandler has described at the beginning of the novel that John Grimes had a fabulous and a long career in the form of space’s Captain Hornblower. He went through numerous strange things over the course of his tenure at the Interstellar Federation. While rising through his ranks at the federation, he faced many triumphs as well as disasters, and finally became a famous Rim Runner. But, there came a point in his life when he fell between two cosmic empires all alone and had only a single space pinnace under his command. John Grimes was in need of work and was looking wherever he could to get one. Suddenly, he came to know that he has become a god. While delivering postages as a mailman, he did not hope for anything fancy in his life anytime soon. But, he attained divinity by delivering one of the postages. And by becoming a god he was offered a certified goddess in the form of a lovely postmistress. John felt that his life has changed completely and that too at a time when he least expected it. This book too was well appreciated by one and all. The critics lauded author Chandler for his interesting depiction of the characters and the plot.

Master of the standalone thriller genre, Shari Lapena, is back. Author of The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest is the latest novel by Shari. It takes place in a cozy mountain lodge in Winter where various people are staying for a romantic getaway. A blizzard cuts off the power and any contact with the outside world so everyone settles in for the long haul. Then a guest dies. And another. Knowing Shari's other books, this should be one we'll be reading late into the night. For more details or to pre-order, visit our Shari Lapena page.

Recommendations

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Featured Series

Our book series of the month is the Will Robie Series by David Baldacci. If you like Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne etc then you'll love the Will Robie series. These are page turners to the max too and Baldacci knows how to keep you going all night long!

Featured Author

Bill Wenham is the author of various book series including The Inspector Charrington Mysteries and the Inspector Bruce Mysteries. He just started writing in his 80s to follow a life long dream. It’s an amazing story and the books he has written are pretty great too – his passion really shines through. Read more about Bills books.

Did You Know…

Arthur Conan Doyle pursued a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh instead of going into the arts much to the surprise of his family. At med school, Doyle met his mentor, Professor Dr. Joseph Bell, whose keen powers of observation would later inspire Doyle to create his famed fictional detective character, Sherlock Holmes. At the University of Edinburgh, Doyle met classmates and future fellow authors James Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson. Talented class!